May 22, 2013
Sonja Alexander
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1761
sonja.r.alexander@nasa.gov
RELEASE: 13-152
NASA ANNOUNCES GLOBAL BEST IN CLASS WINNERS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE APPS CHALLENGE
WASHINGTON -- A panel of international judges from NASA, the European
Space Agency (ESA), and other partner organizations has selected five
"best in class" solutions as winners of the 2013 International Space
Apps Challenge.
The challenge, in which participants developed software, hardware,
data visualization, and mobile or Web applications that contribute to
space exploration missions and help improve life on Earth, took place
at 83 locations around the world April 20-21.
The winners are:
-- Best Use of Data: Sol (Kansas City)
Sol is the world's first interplanetary weather application. Users can
select a planet and view the weather there, as they might view the
weather on Earth by typing a postal code. The Sol team also built the
Mars Atmospheric Aggregation System (MAAS) API, used to fuel several
of the Mars weather applications produced during the challenge.
-- Best Use of Hardware: ISS Base Station (Philadelphia)
ISS Base Station is a hardware-software co-design project both
expanding the Spot The Station Web app and allowing for a physical
manifestation of its data. The software side of the project consists
of a simple Web app that tracks the position of the International
Space Station (ISS) in real time over a map of the world and connects
to an augmented-reality iOS app that allows the user to find the
station in the sky. The hardware side consists of a physical device
that receives data from the app and points at the current location of
the space station, lighting up when the station is within the user's
area.
-- Best Mission Concept: Popeye on Mars (Athens, Greece)
Popeye on Mars is a deployable, reusable spinach greenhouse for Mars.
Internally, a fully equipped aeroponic, or air garden, system
operates for 45 days, having all the needed resources, sensors, and
electronic systems to stabilize the internal environment and help the
spinach grow. Also, there are systems for harvesting both the plants
and the oxygen produced during the growth process. Photovoltaic
panels provide power, while several cover layers protect the system
against extreme Mars conditions.
-- Galactic Impact: Greener Cities (Gothenburg, Sweden)
The Greener Cities Project seeks to complement NASA satellite climate
data with crowd-sourced microclimate data, providing higher
resolution information for monitoring the environment. The design
includes a low-cost garden monitoring sensor, aggregation and
normalization of local environmental data, and scaling a global
educational initiative for children to encourage interest in
programming and the environment.
-- Most Inspiring: T-10 (London)
T-10 is a prototype mobile application for use on the International
Space Station. Astronauts can program in specific points of interest
they wish to photograph, and T-10 will alert them shortly before the
station is set to fly over that location if the current weather
permits photography. The app also can alert astronauts to interesting
weather phenomena and upload photos directly to Twitter, as well as
alert Earth-based users when the ISS will fly overhead.
Social media users around the world joined the judging action to vote
for their favorite projects. The solution with the most public votes,
receiving the People's Choice Award, was ChicksBook. Developed in
Sofia, Bulgaria, ChicksBook is a functional web, Android, and iOs
application that can help the user learn how to raise chickens and
manage the data for a backyard farm.
During the event 770 solutions were submitted and 133 of those were
nominated for global judging. Submissions had to include a two-minute
video and be nominated by a local challenge lead to qualify for
global judging.
To learn more about the International Space Apps Challenge and recent
winners, visit:
http://spaceappschallenge.org
For information about NASA's programs and missions, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov
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